Cindy McCain says Sen. John McCain is ‘doing fine,’ won’t resign

March 12, 2018

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Cindy McCain took to Twitter on Thursday to quash rumors that her ailing husband is resigning.

The wife of America’s most famous senator tweeted that John McCain (R-Ariz.) is “doing fine” and has no plans to leave the Senate. McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer over the summer, has remained at home in Arizona for the last couple of months, where he is receiving therapy.

McCain’s wife, daughter unload on fake story

Sen. McCain might have been forced to miss a couple of months at the Capitol to receive treatment for his glioblastoma, but he isn’t throwing in the towel yet, according to his wife. “Contrary to popular belief @SenJohnMcCain is doing fine and has no intention of resigning!” Cindy McCain wrote Thursday afternoon, adding the hashtag #crackpots as a jab at those spreading the rumors.

Unsubstantiated story

A pro-Donald Trump website started the rumor on Thursday, citing “Senate officials,” “Beltway” insiders, and “sources who are closely monitoring his health” in an unsubstantiated story. The anonymously written article, titled “Senate Officials Confirm John McCain Expected to Step Down from U.S. Senate,” went viral on Twitter on Thursday.

“Just weeks ago, a White House official said McCain — known for his anti-Trump leaks to the media and his connection to the bogus Trump dossier — was refusing to step down from the Senate despite his reported stage IV brain cancer diagnosis and treatments,” the story reads.

While it’s not clear what motivated the story, it is likely that it was spun from whole cloth to damage McCain, given the pro-Trump background of the site and the rivalry between McCain and Trump over the past couple years.

McCain notably handed off the infamous Christopher Steele dossier to the FBI.

Looking forward

The war veteran was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer, glioblastoma, in July. He was hospitalized in Bethesda, Maryland in December to treat an infection and side effects of treatment before returning home to Arizona, where he has remained.

He is receiving physical therapy at home.

But while McCain has been absent from work for a while, there’s no evidence to support the claim that he’s leaving the Senate just yet.

The term “Fake News” gets thrown around a lot on the left and right, but this looks like one instance where both sides can agree that the story was spurious.